The Crazy Golf course at Pops Meadow in Gorleston on Sea became the 100th course visited when we swung by on the 10th May 2009

As of today we've visited 749 courses since September 2006. Of these 721 have been in the UK, with 28 overseas in eleven countries. There are approximately 40 courses in Norfolk and we have visited 32 courses of these so far. Twelve were closed / out of season at the time of our visit. Over the years we have visited eight courses in Great Yarmouth - some of which are no longer there.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The Scottish Open Putting Championship is running at Putting Plus in Prestwick throughout the summer season.

In 2015 Putting Plus held the Open Putting Championship over a weekend, and it rained. In 2016 it was held over 10 days, and it rained. This year the Championship is bring held over the summer season, blame the putting curse when it rains.

In addition to the Champion Putter, category Champions include primary and secondary school age; over 60, over 70 and over 80; and the Grandparent and Grandchild Pairs.

This weekend, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July between 12 noon until 4pm, the focus is on the Grandparent and Grandchild Pairs category.

Champions in all categories will be announced at the beginning of September.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Playing petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

It was great to be back in action at the Woodstock Petanque Club yesterday after a bit of a break in playing the game. The Sunday session began with some coaching from two English Petanque Association coaches who led the group in some training drills and gave some pointing and shooting demonstrations.

The players practice some pointing and lobbing on the Edgeley piste

It's always interesting receiving some top level coaching and advice and I'll certainly be putting some of the techniques into practice. I'm not sure going straight into a competitive match was the best thing to do after relearning the basics of holding and throwing a boules as my playing partner Carol and I lost 13-2 to Hilary and Dave!

My record at Woodstock Pétanque Club is now 6 wins and 5 defeats.

All-time
- Played 11, won 6, lost 5

2017
- Played 5, won 4, lost 1

2016
- Played 6, won 2, lost 4

Woodstock Pétanque Club meets on the piste at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Membership for the year is £10, with a £1 fee for each afternoon you play. A bargain price to spend playing a fun and skillful game in great company.

On Thursday we were at the Trafford Centre in Manchester to play at Paradise Island Adventure Golf. On Friday we visited St Annes to play the Crazy Golf and Par 3 MiniLinks courses - and filmed some news items for ITV and PA. Yesterday we visited Sutton Weaver Village near Runcorn, Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Cheshire Oaks, Higher Bebington Recreation Ground near Birkenhead, and Championship Adventure Golf in New Brighton. Before we hit the road we appeared on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme.

The courses we visited in the past week have certainly been a real mixture of minigolf layouts! Full blog posts to follow...

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour now stands at 747 courses visited overall - 719 in the UK - and a total of 442 played since September 2006.

Our rounds on the courses last night were part of the PIAG Open competition running from the 20th to 23rd July, with entry to the contest open to anyone playing a round on the layout. The PIAG Open is also running at the other Paradise Island Adventure Golf venues at Cheshire Oaks, Glasgow, Livingston, Sheffield and Derby.

The Open Championship scorecard

First up we played the Temple Ruins Adventure where I shot a 39 (including a dreaded 7 on the 5th hole) to Emily's 42. On the Tiki Hut Trail we both improved our scores. I settled into the course a bit more and recorded a 34, with Emily hitting a 38.

Check out the videos from our visit on our YouTube Channel and on the links below.

Check out the Mobike website for further details of the scheme and how you can hire one of the bikes.

The Mobikes look pretty cool. I wouldn't mind having a go on one, even if I'm more of a BMX man myself

There have been reports in the news and by police that bikes have been abandoned. However, unlike the London 'Boris Bikes' the Mobikes don't have docking stations, they are simply left in the open ready for collection by the next user.

Handy to know that I can collect one in the outer reaches of Greater Manchester here in the leafy Cheshire/Stockport borderlands.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

On the 28th June the Crazy Golf course in Glossop's Manor Park became the 743rd course visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Unfortunately as it was a weekday the course wasn't open to play, so last Saturday we returned to give the course a go. Luckily the weather was a lot better than my visit the week before.

A view of the Crazy Golf course from the Miniature Railway's station platform

We also got to have a ride on the Miniature Railway which was brilliant fun.

The rules of the railway

The 6-minute train ride costs £2 per passenger and takes you round an interesting journey around the park and through the woods. You also get your hand stamped which means you can ride again for free!

Manor Park is a tremendous facility and we'd definitely visit again. Glossop as a whole is well worth seeing as there are some fantastic views of the Peak District from the town, as well as some interesting shops and pubs there too.

Friday, July 14, 2017

On the 18th June the MiniLinks Par-3 Miniature Golf course in Lytham Saint Annes became the 742nd visited and 437th played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A view looking back at hole 1

The course was proving incredibly popular all day

There are some great views from the links golf course

MiniLinks Golf hosts a number of public tournaments on the Par-3 Golf course throughout the year and there are four special competitions that run at the same time as the 'Majors' in regular golf. Next up is the MiniLinks Open running from the 20th-23rd July.

The MiniLinks US Open golf trophy

My score of 67(+13) - recorded as a 65(+11) with the Beginner's Handicap taken into consideration - saw me finish in tied 13th place in the MiniLinks US Open tournament. A total of 43 players submitted their scores over the weekend, with the winner scoring a round of 48(-6).

Ever since I first spotted tripe on a butcher's stall at Wigan Market in 2012 I've been following the Tripe Marketing Board with interest. Although not enough interest to have actually tried tripe. I'm fairly certain that cow's stomach is something of an acquired taste.